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Throughout this BibleWiki you will find the concept of "salvation" or "eternal life" through "faith in Jesus". But what is faith in Jesus? What does this mean? To explain, let's take a very well-known verse of the Bible and allow the Bible itself to define the concepts within it. John 3:16 says:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The keys to unlock the meaning of this verse are in the following questions:

Who is God's "only begotten Son"?

What exactly does "believeth in him" mean?

"perish" from what?

What is "everlasting life"?

Who is God's "only begotten Son"?

Jesus is identified in the Bible as God's Son by the angels (Luke 1:32, 2:11), Paul (Heb 4:14), God (Luke 3:22), Jesus himself (John 10:30-38), and in many other places.

What exactly does "believeth in him" mean?

Belief, here, is not talking about an intellectual knowledge of Jesus, but a one-time "conversion", or a "change of heart" where you repent of your sins, and accept Jesus's death as payment for them. Consider this in light of these verses:

Know that you are a sinner, and that sin separates you from God

Romans 3:23 - …all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No one who has ever lived is worthy of God's glory. Everyone has done bad things that will prevent them from being with God.

Romans 6:23 - …the wages of sin is death. The wages (much like your salary, or wages from your employer) is what you earn for being sinful. "Death" is used in more than one sense in the Bible-here it doesn't mean physical death where you go to the grave, but spiritual death, where you spend eternity apart from God.

Know that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin

Romans 5:8 - But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us.

God doesn't force you to spend eternity with him—you need to accept this gift of salvation

Romans 10:10 - For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

"Perish" from what?

"Perishing" is not talking about death in the sense of a physical death, which happens to everyone. It's talking about a spiritual death, which is separation from God forever.

What is "everlasting life"?

After being "saved", or "born again" as Jesus puts it in John 3, you are no longer condemned to "death", but can now live with God eternally. This world will just be here a short time, but God has some amazing plans for its restoration. The Bible says that this earth is cursed, but as beautiful as it sometimes is, when the curse is lifted it will be a place of beauty we could never imagine now.